Most of the banking systems across the world are safe so long as you don’t disclose your account details to others. Banks in the country are no exception with a number of people falling prey to one-time password (OTP) scams through WhatsApp. In OTP scams, people receive random calls through WhatsApp or other social media apps, saying they have won a lottery. They are then asked to give out their OTP.
According to bank officials, such a scam is called phishing. Most probably than not, when you hand over your OTP to scammers, they will clean out your bank account.
“They are trying to obtain the bank details and make money out of it. Because our customers have shared their OTPs with the caller; they have handed over the control of their mobile banking app to them, which allow them to transfer whatever funds our customers had in their accounts,” said Hem Kumar Archarya, the Chief Operation Officer with the Bhutan National Bank.
According to the bank, they receive complaints saying people have lost their money and this time the banks have retained their money since they found out early about the scam. However, it would be difficult next time says the chief operation officer.
“Although our banking system is very secure, we sit behind several layers of firewalls. Since the money was transferred to one of our banks, within Bhutan we managed to have the amount blocked and refund to our customers that were purely based on our understanding and relationship between our banks in Bhutan. If had it gone to India, or any other places it would have been difficult,” he added.
More than 15 people were lured by scammers, and the numbers are increasing with the increasing trend of phishing online.
Kelzang Choden
